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The "Frat Pack" is a nickname given to a group of male Hollywood comedy actors who have appeared together in many of the highest grossing comedy movies since the late 1990s. The group usually includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell.
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The term was used by USA Today in a June 2004 story and was soon picked up by other media outlets as well. Before USA Today dubbed this group the "Frat Pack," Entertainment Weekly had referred to them as the "Slacker Pack," having earlier coined the term "Frat Pack" to describe Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Edward Norton, and Ryan Phillippe. By 2005, Entertainment Weekly had dropped the "Slacker Pack" term and followed suit, referring to the newer crop of actors as the "Frat Pack."
The name is an allusion to the Rat Pack (and the later Brat Pack), combined with a reference to the group's popular fraternity-related film Old School and the sophomoric style of humor employed in many of their films. Ben Stiller, however, has decried the use of the term, saying, "I think the whole thing about the Frat Pack group is completely fabricated anyway."
Membership
Initially, the core members included Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, all of whom were recognized by USA Today in an early feature, as well as Andy Dick, who appeared in as a majority of early Frat Pack movies but was not commercially bankable as a lead actor. Later, Steve Carell was also included in the Pack. The previous year, USA Today had listed him, along with Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Leslie Mann, among the Frat Pack's "Junior Varsity". While hosting Saturday Night Live in September 2005, Carell indirectly claimed membership by mentioning Stiller, Vaughn, Ferrell, Owen Wilson, and Black, and saying he was "one of those guys now". He filled the void left by Andy Dick, who, largely due to his friendship with Ben Stiller, had appeared in a majority of early Frat Pack movies before disappearing due to increasing drug and alcohol struggles in the late 2000s.
In 2005, Details Magazine called Judd Apatow, Adam McKay, and Todd Phillips "The Frat Packagers". A year later, Paul Rudd was called a Frat Pack member by the New York Post and other publications. Asked by an interviewed with The Advocate whether Knocked Up would usher him into the Frat Pack, Rudd said he was a "pledge" that hasn't "been initiated yet into the brotherhood." Years later, in a 2011 interview, Rudd acknowledged his association with the group by saying, "As far as the Frat Pack concept goes, I'm happy to be included. I think the elder statesmen in it are really talented, and I'm a fan of all of them." In a 2008 interview with Moviefone's Unscripted, Jack Black jokingly initiated Robert Downey, Jr. into the Frat Pack, due to his starring role in Tropic Thunder with Black and Ben Stiller.
The members of the Frat Pack often work with certain directors multiple times. Wes Anderson is a college friend of the Wilsons and directed them in both Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums (which also starred Stiller), while Todd Phillips directed Old School and Starsky & Hutch. Adam McKay directed Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Step Brothers, which included John C. Reilly as a lead role. Judd Apatow is the writer/producer of several Frat Pack comedies, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. He made his directorial debut with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, starring Steve Carell, and followed up with Knocked Up, starring Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, with a cameo by Carell. Apatow was also a co-creator of The Ben Stiller Show. Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin worked again with Vince Vaughn for the Christmas comedy Fred Claus (2007), and with Owen Wilson for Shanghai Knights (2003).
The Farrelly Brothers have directed Frat Pack members Ben Stiller in There's Something About Mary and The Heartbreak Kid, Jack Black in Shallow Hal and Owen Wilson in Hall Pass.
After The 40-Year-Old Virgin there has been a consensus for branding a Team Apatow or the Apatow Mafia which takes its name from the director/producer Judd Apatow. This group of young actors, consisting of Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, James Franco, Justin Long, Ken Jeong, Bill Hader, Jack McBrayer and John C. Reilly, in addition to appearing frequently in films of the Frat Pack, frequently collaborate with each other. While often appearing in works among themselves, many fans also consider them an integral part of the Frat Pack.
Filmography
All members of the Frat Pack have never appeared in a single movie together, they have come closest in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which featured all but Owen Wilson (chiefly in minor roles and cameos). Also, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, and David Koechner have all been cast members on Saturday Night Live, and, except for Owen Wilson and Andy Dick, all members have hosted Saturday Night Live. Will Ferrell, David Koechner, and Jack Black have made guest appearances on The Office with Steve Carell. They have also all presented during the Academy Awards. In addition to the following, there are scores of films that feature only a single Frat Pack member.
Other films
Comedy films that involve only one primary Frat Packer in a large or prominent role, among other close contributors: